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CLIMATE WONKS WANTED: Who will help President Barack Obama meet his ambitious promises to tackle climate change? The president’s top climate appointees, and the outside advisers best positioned to shape his agenda, are a team replete with heavy-hitters — including green-minded business leaders, buttoned-down environmental lobbyists and bureaucrats who have spent years wrestling with the minutiae of regulations. Darren Goode breaks it down: http://politi.co/XRrtPs

IN BOOK, CUCCINELLI TELLS HIS SIDE OF THE LAWSUIT: Ken Cuccinelli is using his new book to re-litigate his crusade against EPA. The Virginia attorney general and Republican candidate for governor dedicates a significant portion of his soon-to-be-published tome to questioning the science of climate change and recounting his lawsuit against EPA’s greenhouse gas regulations. A federal court slapped down Cuccinelli’s claims last year — but the tea party star portrays the outcome as a mixed one, marked by judicial overreach and destined for a Supreme Court intervention. Your morning host has details: http://politico.pro/WSBsHY

THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN NEW ORLEANS: Just when ME thought the Super Bowl would go by without an energy angle (aside from Beyoncé really bringing it), the football gods smiled upon us and half the lights in the Superdome went out in the third quarter for more than a half hour. ESPN: “Police officials said too much electricity was being pumped into the 73,000-seat Superdome, causing a surge, and it took time to return power to the building. … Engineers for the Superdome and power company Entergy New Orleans are investigating what caused the surge ‘so it doesn't happen again,’ said Chad Wilken, operations manager at the Superdome.” http://es.pn/Wjy9Z7

THE BLAME GAME: The world’s most-watched technical difficulties became political fodder almost instantly.

— “It’s possible that such an embarrassing episode during America’s most iconic cultural event, in front of the whole world, will prompt the Congress to get serious about upgrading the U.S. grid and electrical transmission system,” Paul Bledsoe, an independent consultant and former Clinton White House aide, wrote to ME. “Depending on the cause of this incident, we might hear the President will mention this event in the State of the Union in 9 days in this context.”

— The Drudge Report linked to a Saturday DOE blog post on the Superdome’s renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts. The post is about the installation of thousands of energy efficient LED lights outside of the stadium (which were apparently unrelated to with the power outage): http://1.usa.gov/Wovmjo.

— Salon highlights an Opower report from this week that concluded that, because so many people watch the Super Bowl in groups, energy consumption across the U.S. is lower than usual for that time on a Sunday: http://bit.ly/XDdL4H

TWITTER WATCH

@DavidVitter: “Like most @Saints fans, I'm immediately assuming Roger Goodell is the chief suspect for the power outage.”

@EntergyNOLA: “Power issue at the Super Dome appears to be in the customer's side. Entergy is providing power to the Dome.”

HAPPY MONDAY and welcome to Morning Energy, where it’s once again time for one of ME’s Patented, Always Correct “Downton Abbey” Spoilers: While on a rigorous walk through his vast estate, Lord Grantham is shocked when he stumbles upon Ray Lewis celebrating in the woods. Send your energy news to aguillen@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @alexcguillen, @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Energy.

MURKOWSKI ENERGY BLUEPRINT INCLUDES ANWR, ‘ADVANCED ENERGY TRUST FUND’: Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Lisa Murkowski this morning is rolling out a 115-page energy policy blueprint — dubbed Energy 20/20: A Vision for America’s Energy Future — aimed at achieving full independence from OPEC oil imports in seven years. It lists positions familiar to the Alaska Republican’s agenda, including approving the Keystone XL pipeline; allowing drilling in ANWR and increasing domestic oil and natural gas production overall; and funneling new revenue to help create an Advanced Energy Trust Fund to spur clean energy research, while getting rid of traditional federal subsidies in lieu of those that are “technology-neutral, cost-effective, and conducive to private investment.”

It includes a plan Murkowski has been drafting to grant an automatic 27.5 percent share of revenue to coastal states housing offshore oil and gas, wind and other energy production and another 10 percent specifically for energy R&D, alternative and renewable energy, efficiency and conservation. That plan also would expand from three miles to 12 miles the area states can control off their coasts for energy production. The blueprint’s intent is to spark a new discussion while not presenting a finite plan, spokesman Robert Dillon said.

THE SCHEDULE: Murkowski will unveil the blueprint at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners winter meeting at 8:30 a.m. She’ll also hold a press conference in the Capitol at noon today.

IN CASE YOU’VE BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK, Darius Dixon gave Pros the scoop Friday that Energy Secretary Steven Chu is officially stepping down once a successor is confirmed. Darius has more on the departure, ICYMI: http://politico.pro/VsRdSQ. And Darren Goode, Andrew Restuccia and Darius take a closer look at Chu’s legacy and DOE’s future: http://politico.pro/XcEvan

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: The safe and responsible development of natural gas supports more than 2.8 million jobs across the country. Curious what the economic benefit is for your state? Find out by using our interactive U.S. map at http://bit.ly/TIZPJJ. **

REACTIONS: Some selected farewells from around the interwebs.

— Chu’s unusual (for Cabinet members) scientific background was intriguing, Frank James writes for NPR. “Scientific expertise undoubtedly was needed in his attempt to foster new energy technologies to reduce the nation's reliance on fossil fuels. And Chu's academic stature and connections in academia and Silicon Valley helped him attract other really smart people with proven track records to DOE.” http://n.pr/14Enihb

— Brad Plumer takes stock of Chu’s record in the Washington Post: “The Department of Energy under Chu has poured billions into everything from solar and wind to home-weatherization programs to battery manufacturing. Most of those projects are still thriving — though not all of them.” http://wapo.st/WFZ67L

— Kennedy Maize has a critical look at Chu's tenure in POWERblog: “Chu wasn’t a bad energy secretary. He wasn’t a good energy secretary. He was an average, failed energy secretary, demonstrating that brains minus political savvy is not the right formula for success.” http://bit.ly/WdyzjA

FOR THE RECORD: Saturday marked a milestone for Chu as he overtook George W. Bush-era Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham as longest-serving DOE chief.

CABINET MUSICAL CHAIRS: Andy Revkin in The New York Times on Friday floated for the top DOE spot Shirley Ann Jackson, who was appointed by Bill Clinton the first female and African-American NRC chief and who has been president on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 1999. “She has Chu’s intelligence, but far more rhetorical power and plenty of experience dealing with the rough battles surrounding energy choices,” Revkin writes: http://nyti.ms/U9Xgk8. ... Meanwhile, Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, says EPA air chief Gina McCarthy is the top choice to lead the agency. It could be weeks before any announcement is made. http://reut.rs/Xu0Ulf

KERRY FACES KEYSTONE, CLIMATE CHANGE NEXUS, LUGAR SAYS: Former Sen. Dick Lugar weighed in Sunday on Platts Energy Week TV about new Secretary of State John Kerry, with whom the recently defeated Lugar worked on the Foreign Relations Committee. “I think he will continue to address [climate change] and talk about it very, very frequently. My guess is however that there will be a crucial decision soon on the Keystone XL pipeline situation, which has great ramifications for our relations with our great friends in Canada,” Lugar said. “Hey may offer … some objections to this, but on the balance I believe the administration’s going to proceed from this because logically the oil is not going to disappear from the Earth,” he said, adding that Canada has said it is willing to sell to China instead. Watch: http://bit.ly/WnwDac

NARUC WINTER MEETING KICKS OFF: The winter meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners gets into full swing this morning with remarks from Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rocky Mountain Institute cofounder Amory Lovins. Chris Smith is also scheduled to make his debut as DOE’s new acting assistant secretary for fossil energy today to discuss LNG exports. Some of the afternoon sessions include an exchange on whether abundant natural gas is more effective climate policy than cap-and-trade and what sort of tech and energy policy gaps were revealed by Hurricane Sandy. The full agenda: http://bit.ly/XhsOPR

TODAY IN SOLYNDRA NEWS: Seagate Technology has closed its purchase of Solyndra's sprawling Fremont, Calif., facility for around the $90.3 million sale price, several unnamed sources tell the Silicon Valley Business Journal: http://bit.ly/XxtsdB

U.S. SOLAR MANUFACTURERS SUE GOVERNMENT OVER TARIFFS LOOPHOLE: Several domestic solar manufacturers who won their push last year for tariffs on solar imports from China are suing the Obama administration over an exemption loophole in the duties they say lets some imports continue. The Commerce Department “left in a potentially big loophole in its tariffs, by exempting Chinese modules made from cells manufactured in a third country,” Platts writes. “The exemption will allow Chinese manufacturers to escape the penalties by outsourcing the production of the cells, which is just one part of the panel-making process, the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing said.” Platts: http://bit.ly/12jDF34

A LOSE-LOSE PROPOSITION? How angry will people be if New York approves or bans fracking? A new Siena College poll out today finds that opponents of fracking have more emotion riding on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s upcoming decision than fracking’s supporters. The poll found a 40-40 split of fracking opponents and supporters in the Empire State. Among opponents, 88 percent said they would be very or somewhat upset were fracking given the green light, but among supporters 59 percent said they would be very or somewhat upset if fracking were banned.

NRG PICKS UP LOBBYIST BILLUPS: Following its merger with GenOn Energy, NRG Energy has picked up lobbyist Ray Billups, according to new disclosures. Billips reported getting $80,000 from GenOn for his lobbying efforts in 2012. Besides GenOn, Billups also lobbies for the Edison Electric Institute and PJM Interconnection.

QUICK HITS

— Mexico is still looking for answers in the Pemex office building blast that killed at least 34 people Thursday. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/Y2fWNX

— The Mississippi River is open to traffic again after the Coast Guard cleaned up thousands of gallons of oil from the leaking barge that hit a bridge last week. AP: http://wapo.st/YLDhJX

— The Denver Post looks at disagreements over oil and gas leasing on public lands in the West: http://bit.ly/WOnTJt

— A D.C. judge has dismissed a recently filed lawsuit from the Chinese-owned Ralls Corp. over the Oregon wind farm deal blocked by President Barack Obama last year for a lack of jurisdiction. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/XY92JO

THAT’S ALL FOR ME. Have a great week.

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